Project Management Support - Senior Officer for Capacity Building

The European Union Support to Social Housing and Active Inclusion Programme (SHAI) is designed to enhance implementation of social inclusion policies in Serbia and provide sustainable housing solutions accompanied with active inclusion measures for the most vulnerable population. The European Union (EU) has allocated 20 million Euros through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) 2018 for the 36 month-long implementation of the Programme, and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has been selected as the implementing partner. National partners and the Programme beneficiaries are the Ministry for Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, the Ministry of European Integration.

The Programme will strengthen capacities at the national and local level for identification, programming, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of sustainable social housing programmes and projects. It will also provide a range of housing solutions for vulnerable beneficiaries, ranging from construction of multi-family residential blocks, to procurement of village or prefabricated houses, and reconstruction of self-owned properties. Interventions will also include small scale infrastructure works in sub-standard settlements. In order to facilitate sustainability, the Programme will support implementation of complementary social inclusion measures, which will primarily focus on employment and economic empowerment of beneficiaries. The projects will be selected through open calls for proposals, which are transparent solicitation methods, respecting fairness and integrity.

Particularly targeted groups belong to the vulnerable and at-risk-of-poverty population, such as Roma, disadvantaged women, in particular women victims of domestic violence, youth in/leaving care, persons with disabilities, and others who live in inadequate housing conditions. The Programme will also benefit national institutions and local self-governments, as well as social inclusion service providers from public and civil society sector.

The Programme, grounded in national and international frameworks, will contribute to meeting the European Union accession criteria under Chapters 19 that relates to social inclusion and Chapter 23 that covers fundamental rights, along with achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Under the direct supervision and in close coordination with the Project Manager, the Project Management Support - Senior Officer for Capacity Building will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of the required outputs related to strengthening capacities of relevant authorities at the national and local level as well as capacities of public and civil service providers to implement social housing policy, including complementary active inclusion measures.

The Senior Officer for Capacity Building will undertake the following activities/responsibilities:

Stakeholder Management:

• Establish and cultivate solid working relationship with the relevant ministries and governmental bodies,  local self-governments, public and civil service providers and other key stakeholders
• Manage communications with the key stakeholders and ensure that they are aware of the Project activities, progress, exceptions and that they are in a position to accept handover products
• Ensure that the key stakeholders are consulted during design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of capacity building activities as well as that their specific needs are considered and addressed in full compliance with the Project’s objectives and results
• Maintain regular communication with the Project beneficiaries to ensure that their feedback has been addressed in delivering the envisaged outputs
• Develop different reports used to inform donor and the key stakeholders of SHAI Project interventions related to the capacity building activities
• Identify, collect and analyse relevant policy-related information and data
• Ensure the Project Manager, Head of Programme and relevant UNOPS RSPO personnel are informed about key developments
• Contribute to the Project’s communication and visibility activities 

Delivery and Performance:

• Lead and manage the Project’s capacity building activities and ensure timely and quality delivery of the outputs related to strengthening capacities of institutions/authorities/organisations providing housing and active inclusion services
• Ensure that planned outputs as guidelines and models for municipal decisions, database, terms of references experts’ assistance, trainings, study visits, etc. and other deliverables are provided within acceptable tolerances of time, cost and quality
• Monitor financial resources to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports related to the implementation of the planned activities
• Prepare the progress reports and submit them to the Project Manager for review/approval;
• Monitor progress of the implemented activities and ensure that they are in accordance with the Project Work Plan
• Capture good practices and lessons learned, particularly related to areas of capacity development
• Prepare Terms of Reference for consultants needed for this activities
• With the guidance of the Procurement Officer, support preparation of  tenders for the capacity building activities
• Manage meetings, training sessions, conferences and promotional activities
• Build network of contacts to acquire and share relevant knowledge and information
• Manage the consultants and experts included in implementation of the activities related to strengthening capacities of institutions/authorities/organisations providing housing and active inclusion services
• Ensure the quality of implemented activities and products are accepted by the Project Manager and the donor
• Ensure good governance and gender equality principles and practices are incorporated into the capacity building products, in accordance with the Project’s objectives and methodology.

Procedures:

• With support from the Project Manager and in consultations with the Head of Programme, contribute to respect of project management requirements
• With support from the Project Manager, the Head of Support Services and the Procurement Officer, ensure activities related to strengthening capacities of institutions/authorities/organisations providing housing and active inclusion services are conducted in accordance with UNOPS procedures
• In cooperation with the Project Manager and with support from the Head of Support Services and the Finance Officer, ensure efficient and effective management of the budget related to the activities within strengthening capacities of institutions/authorities/organisations providing housing and active inclusion services and that all made expenditure complies with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR)
• Contribute to development, update and implementation of the Project’s plans
• Contribute to identification and assessment of risks related to the achievements within strengthening capacities of institutions/authorities/organisations providing housing and active inclusion services and implement mitigation measures in accordance with the Project’s Risk Management Strategy
• Contribute to the Project’s planning activities and ensure timely delivery of approved work, procurement, and financial plans for the capacity building activities
• Provide accurate and high quality inputs to Project’s reports
• Provide accurate and quality inputs needed for monitoring of the Project’s performance, outputs and benefits as required by the Project Manager
• Ensure respect of UNOPS and Project’s configuration management requirements

Knowledge Management:

• Participate in the UNOPS Communities of Practice
• Provide feedback to Practice Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies
• Contribute to the identification and sharing of the Project’s lessons learned and best practices as per reporting format.

Personnel Management:

• Supervise, closely monitor and assess the performance of external consultants 

Education

• Master degree preferably in social and political sciences, business and public administration is required. Bachelor’s degree with a combination of two additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master degree

Work Experience

• Minimum two years of relevant work experience in the field of capacity building is required
• Minimum two years of experience working in cooperation with the government and civil institutions and organisations is required
• Experience with international organisations is highly desirable

Language Requirements

• Fluency in Serbian and English is required

Driving license

• Driving license and ability to travel independently is required

This is a local position, it is therefore open to nationals of the Republic of Serbia and to individuals who have a valid residence/work permit. Contract type: Ongoing ICA
Contract level: Local ICA 9
Contract duration: Open-ended subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and/or to satisfactory performance

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

In Serbia, UNOPS has been active since 2000, became the Project Centre (RSPC) in 2012, and was reclassified, due a growing portfolio, to Operations Centre (RSOC) at the beginning of 2017. Since 2017, RSOC operations have expanded to North Macedonia, Georgia and Montenegro.

UNOPS has been a reliable partner primarily of the Government of Serbia, and later of the Governments of North Macedonia, Georgia and Montenegro, in providing support for demanding socio-economic reforms and facilitating accession to the European Union.

Currently, the RSPO is implementing 14 projects focussed on sustainable socio-economic development, creation of a more favourable environment for employability, business and infrastructure growth, increased security, improved education, enhanced social inclusion either via enabling durable housing solutions or providing access to health, education and jobs for the most vulnerable population. All projects have good governance and gender equality as transversal themes. UNOPS projects are contextualised within the broader Sustainable Development Goals framework and objectives.